Pliers for making bands on teeth



. Nov. l5, 1960 D. H. DRAKE PLIERS FOR MAKING BANDS on TEETH Filed NOV. 8, 1957 INVENTOR. Mme-z M4,

United States P tent" PLIERS FOR MAKING BANDS ON TEETH Daniel H. Drake, 1 Riverside Road, Riverside, Ill.

Filed Nov. 8, 1957,"Ser. No. 695,338

4 Claims. (Cl. 32-66) This invention is directed to a new andimproved orthodontists band forming tool.

Orthodontic bands of metallic material are formed and fitted to the individual teeth in the mouth of the patient and these bands serve as a base to which other appliances, such as braces and the like, are anchored. These bands must be custom fitted to the particular tooth being provided with the band and they must be positioned securely on the tooth in order to provide a firm anchorage for the braceor the like carried by the bands. The anterior teeth pose a special problem in the use of such bands. Unlike the posterior teeth, theanterior teeth may have an inner lingual surface of somewhat concave shape. Furthermore, the clinical crowns of the teeth to which the-bands are fitted have a distinctive shape, namely, a thick lower section as compared to a thin upper section and a cross-section that varies drastically in shape and configuration from the top of the crown to the lower portion of the clinical crown. This poses aspecial problem in fitting bands to these teeth in that a band properly fitted at the lower portion of the crown must have a different shape and configuration at the upper portion of the band in order to properly conform to the configuration of the upper portion of the clinical crown of the tooth.

The main purpose of the present invention is the provision of a tool which will conform an orthodontic band to such an anterior tooth and at the same time lock the band in the configuration imposed on it by the tool.

Other purposes will appear from time to time in the course of the ensuing specification and claims.

Referring generally now to the drawings:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the invention illustrating the use of the invention relative to the teeth of the patient;

Figure 2 is a plan view of the invention illustrated in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is an end view of the invention illustrated in Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a sectional illustration taken along lines 44 of Figure 2;

Figure 5 is a top view of an anterior tooth provided with a band formed in accordance with the present invention; and

Figure 6 is a perspective view of a tooth provided with a band formed in accordance with the present invention.

Like elements are designated by like characters throughout the specification and drawings.

Referring specifically now to the drawings and in the first instance to Figure 1, the numeral 1 generally designates the tool constituting the present invention. Designated generally at 2 are the mandibular teeth of the patient while the maxillary teeth are generally designated at 3. The gingival or gum lines of the upper and lower teeth are designated generally at 4 and 5. The anterior mandibular teeth are designated generally at 6, whereas the anterior maxillary teeth are designated generally at 7. These teeth, as appears in Figure 1, genera-11y have inclined lingual surfaces as at 8, The anterior teeth, a

will be especially noted in Figures 5 and 6, diminish in width from the upper portion of the clinical crowns to thelower portions thereof, while the thickness. increases from the upper portion of the clinical crown to the lower portion thereof. The lingual surfaces of these teeth are generally slightly concave.

In accordance with the invention, the band fittingtool for these anterior teeth is comprised of a pair..of. pivoted handles 9 and 10 which can rotate about a pivot pin 11. Each of the handles 9 and 10 has a jaw portion12 and 13 respectively, formed unitarily therewith so that as the handles 9 and 10 are grasped by the user and .moved to gether, the jaws 12 and 13 willvbe movedtogether. As is seen best in Figure 1, the jaw portions 12 and 131: are downwardly bent and inclined relatively to the general plane of the handles 9 and 10; The general plane of. the handles is designated at 14 and the inclination ofthe jaw portions relative to the plane of the handles'is generally on the order of the averageangle of inclination of the lingual surfaces of the anterior teeth to the occlusal plane. In Figure 1, the plane of the .handles may be considered as coincidental with the occlusal plane and in Figure 1 the inclination of the handle portions is shown as approximating the inclination of the lingual surfaces designated by the dash lines 15 and 16.

The jaw portions 12 and 13 should extend away from the general plane of the handles by a distance at least one and preferably in the range of 1 /2 to 2 /2 times the average height of the clinical crowns of the anterior teeth.

The lower inner surfaces of the jaw portions12 .and 13 are fiat as at 17 and 18 in order to provide gripping faces adapted to grip an object therebetween. These faces extend through a height generally somewhat greater than the width of an orthodontic band; One face, suchas the face designated ant-18, is provided with a projection 19 which is. adapted to fit into a'slot or'groove20 in the other face. The slot or groove 20 is slightly larger than the thickness of the projection so as to allow two thicknesses of a band to fit into the slot or groove without being unduly compressed or sheared by the projection 18. The slot and projection extend from generally the full height of the gripping face. The slot and projection extend in a direction such that they are inclined in the direction of their lengths, the same as the inclination of the jaw portions.

The lower inner surface of the jaws as designated at 21 is preferably convex in shape so as to conform generally to the average concavity of the lingual surfaces of the anterior teeth.

In using the tool constituting the present invention, the orthodontist may first place a band around the anterior tooth and conform 'it to the tooth as is designated in Figure 5. In Figure 5 the band is designated at 22. The jaw portions 12 and 13 of the tool are then spread apart in a position to grip the band on the inner side of the.

tooth in the position shown in Figure 1. The ends of the band are thus positioned between the jaws with the inner surface 21 of the jaws closely adjacent to the lingual surface of the tooth. The orthodontist then closes the handles 9 and 10, causing the jaw faces 17 and 18 to move together, while at the same time keeping the inner surface 21 of the lower end of the jawsclosely adjacent to the lingual surface of the tooth. In the course of such movement, the ends of the band are forced into the groove 2 by the projection 18 and the result is a stretching of the band in a direction generally normal to the lingual surface of the tooth and in an outward direction with respect to such lingual surface. This pulls theband tightly around the anterior surface of the tooth and in view of the stretching action on the ends of the band, While the inner surface of the jaws is positioned closely adjacent to the lingual surface of the tooth, the band is Patented Nov.- 1 5, 1 960 i formed tightly across the lingual surface. The direction of the stretching action is such as to force the ends of the band toward the occlusal plane and hence out of dangerous contact with the mouth of the patient. In other words, when crimped by the tool the ends of the band extend in a direction generally normal or perpendicular to the lingual surface. The stretching force is generally perpendicular to the direction of the lengths of the beaks. The crimping put in the band by the projection 19 and groove 20, as seen at 23 in Figures 5 and 6, holds the band firmly in a shape and configuration conforming to the shape and configuration of the tooth.

The tool may be used advantageously on either the maxillary or mandibular anterior teeth. The inclination of the jaws, projection 19 and slot 20, relative to the plane of the handles, enables efficient work by the orthodontist on either the maxillary or mandibular anterior teeth.

Whereas I have shown and described an operative form of my invention, I wish it to be understood that this showing and description thereof is to be taken in an illustrative or diagrammatic sense only. There are many modifications of the invention which will be apparent to those skilled in the art and which will fall within the spirit and scope of the invention. The scope of the invention should be limited only by the scope of the hereinafter appended claims.

I claim:

1. An orthodontic band forming tool for anterior teeth, including a pair of pivoted handle members having jaw faces at one end thereof, said handle members being movable in a general plane extending transversely to the axis of the pivot for the handles, said jaw faces being adapted to be moved toward one another when the other ends of said handle members are moved toward one another, one of said jaw faces having a projection extending therefrom and the other of said faces having a recess formed therein, said recess being adapted to receive said projection, said projection and recess being inclined to the general plane of said handle members on the order of the average angle between the occlusal plane and the lingual surfaces of the anterior teeth of a person, said jaw faces, said projection, and said recess being spaced from said plane, whereby said jaw faces, said projection, and said recess, when placed over the ends of an orthodontic band positioned on an anterior tooth, will stretch the band by an outward force generally perpendicular to the lingual surface of the tooth, while at the same time putting a crimp in the ends of the band and drawing the inner surfaces of the band tightly across the inclined lingual surface of the tooth when said jaws are moved together.

2. An orthodontic band forming tool for anterior teeth comprising a pair of pivoted handle members having jaws at the ends thereof, said handle members being movable in a general plane extending transversely to the axis of the pivot for the handles, said jaws being adapted to be moved together when said handles are moved together, one of said jaws having a projection extending therefrom and the other of said jaws having a recess formed therein to interfit with one another when said faces are moved together, said jaws being inclined to the general plane of said handles on the order of the average angle between the occlusal plane and the lingual surfaces of the anterior teeth of a person, the inner rearwardly facing surface of said jaws being generally convex to thereby conform the lower end of said jaws to the lingual surfaces of the anterior teeth.

3. The structure of claim 2 wherein said jaws extend from the general plane of said handles by a distance on t the order of 1 /2 to 2 /2 times the average height of the an orthodontic band between said projection and the walls of said recess.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Douds Aug. 6, 1912 Young May 27, 1919 

